September 26, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, welcomed the announcement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies has entered into force.

The agreement aims to ensure sustainable global fisheries by establishing new multilateral trade rules on certain forms of harmful fisheries subsidies, including those related to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, overfished stocks and unregulated high seas fishing. It is the WTO’s second multilateral agreement since its inception and the first to focus on environmental sustainability as a core outcome.

Canada was the fifth WTO member to accept the agreement and encourages all members that have not yet done so to submit their acceptance of the agreement.